Examples

Clichés

This section lists the 'most-annoying clichés', according to a survey we carried out in 2004.

In 2004 we asked our supporters in more than 70 countries which clichés they thought were the most annoying. Our supporters voted 'at the end of the day' as the most irritating phrase in the English language.

Second place in the vote was shared by 'at this moment in time' and the constant use of 'like' as if it were a form of punctuation. 'With all due respect' came fourth.

A campaign spokesman said overused phrases were a barrier to communication. "When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message - assuming there is one."

George Orwell's advice is still worth following: 'Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.'

The following terms also received several nominations.

24/7

absolutely

address the issue

awesome

ballpark figure

basically

basis ('on a weekly basis' in place of 'every week' and so on)

bear with me

between a rock and a hard place

blue sky thinking

boggles the mind

bottom line

crack troops

diamond geezer

epicentre (used incorrectly)

glass half full (or half empty)

going forward

I hear what you're saying ...

in terms of ...

it's not rocket science

literally

move the goalposts

ongoing

prioritise

pushing the envelope

singing from the same hymn sheet

the fact of the matter is

thinking outside the box

to be honest/to be honest with you/to be perfectly honest

touch base

value-added (in general use)

A-Z of alternative words

Choose a word:

Plain English tools

We use cookies to improve our website and your experience when using it. Cookies used for the essential operation of the site have already been set. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, see our privacy policy.